Subway Etiquette: The Art of Reading Over Someone's Shoulder

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09/15/2009 19:35:23

Subway Etiquette: The Art of Reading Over Someone's Shoulder

cosmopsis:

It’s easy to tell when someone is reading over your shoulder—you can feel it. There are different levels of permission when trying to read over someone’s shoulder. Depending on what is being read (or written), the rules may vary.

1) DAILY NEWSPAPERS - Free territory. Passengers sitting next to someone reading a newspaper may look on with the reader. Whenever I’ve read a free daily paper on the train, people usually look on with me. I even encourage them by opening the pages a little wider. My news is your news. We should all stay informed. We should share.

2) MAGAZINES - Look on at your own discretion. If it’s a fashion magazine, you’re looking at mostly advertisements. Harmless. But if the person is reading an article, it’s usually not worth it. If the article is confessional in any way, the person holding the magazine may get uncomfortable if they sense someone looking. If they’re reading The New Yorker, give up immediately.

3) NOVELS - It’s ok to quickly check out the author and title, if possible. The rules vary slightly on the L train because people often like to be noticed by what they’re reading (you’ll see a lot of Ayn Rand). But it’s sometimes fun to quickly read a sentence and look away, leaving the rest of the story up to your imagination. Like today, I was sitting next to a guy who was reading Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham, which I’ve never read. From a brief glance, I captured: And yet she drove on with relentless, orange-eyed focus. Lizard he thought. Fucking lizard. And later: He saw her lipless mouth tighten. She was a lizard woman who wanted her own way. What is going on there? Who is this lizard woman? Now, if you really want to make yourself uncomfortable, try reading on with someone who is reading an erotic novel.

4) TEXT MESSAGES - Forbidden, but fun. If you see someone writing something like “Ok, just meet at my place at 8?” you’ll think “Hey, they try to make plans, just like me!”

5) CROSSWORD PUZZLES, GAMES, IPOD PLAYLISTS, ETC. - The person will likely be annoyed. We all have playlist anxiety.

6) PEN AND PAPER - Absolutely forbidden. Never try to read what someone is writing, even if it’s a grocery list. Don’t do it. Simply not allowed. However, it’s possible that the person may be writing you a note.

Good luck.

Ayn Rand on the L train? Really?!?